Featured Designer: Glendon Place

So, I recently waxed rhapsodic about Rebecca Wood’s stocking canvases for needlepoint. Now it’s time for me to talk about some cross stitch designs.

As much as I love needlepoint and how it has helped me stretch my creativity with needle and thread, I still go crazy over my first hobby, cross stitch. I’ve been cross stitching for about 30 years now and am amazed by how far the hobby has come. When I started in the very early 1980s, there was cotton floss, some basic Aida and other linens, and some really awful metallic threads. There was probably great silk and other fibers, I just didn’t use them. (I was 10 and lived in the middle of nowhere.) Now there are all sorts of different cottons, silks, real and synthetic fuzzy threads, and so many variegated mixes I’ve lost track. We also have a plethora of beads and other doo-dads to add to our labors of love. Metallics have come a looooong way, too — and I love them!

Witches Wheel

In the last few years I’ve discovered the beautiful designs of Glendon Place. Something about these designs speaks to me and apparently to many others. I really noticed them at Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH. It makes such a difference when you can see these lovely designs stitched on the beautiful hand-dyed fabric with the gorgeous threads with which they were meant to be stitched. For example, Witches Wheel is a very cool piece if you are into a bit of a Gothic look. The fabric is very vibrant and all that black stitching and beadwork really stands out on it. Granted, it’s a little late to stitch this for this Halloween, but it’s never too late to start planning for next year.

Sleepy Hollow

Another fantastic Halloween piece is Sleepy Hollow. Again, I’ve seen this in person stitched on this fabric and it’s gorgeous. It’s a large piece and a lot of little x’s, but so worth it!

Glendon Place has some new releases just in time for Christmas that are also gorgeous. I can’t wait to see these in person when I’m in Nashua again this spring. My favorite is Spirit of Christmas. I can really get behind the verse, “He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” (Roy L. Smith). This one would be gorgeous simply stitched with cross stitches, but if you were to be more adventurous you could use a lot of special stitches on the trees and give it even more texture. This is one of those pieces that would look very nice on plain fabric, but I personally love the boost the hand-dyed fabric gives it.